Jade's Family
by WellWishes
Summary: My insight into Jade's background and family life. The reason why father and daughter don't get along, why he remarried and why Jade has trust issues. Rated T for one swear.


**A/N: Just a little insight into Jade's family life that randomly came to me. It's not much, but I suppose you can connect it with my story _Just a Stage Kiss_, or you can keep in completely separate from that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my take on why father and daughter don't seem to get on too well.**

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><p>James West wasn't really one for commitment. He took on the family business at the age of 20 after his father decided to take an early retirement which earned him a lot of money. That, along with his youthful looks, made it pretty easy for him to get any girl he wanted.<p>

The only reason he did settle down was when one of his many flings ended up pregnant. She was a pretty girl who he had been trying to woo for quite sometime before they finally got together. At first she was headstrong and stubborn, not wanting to be with the man who had such a reputation. But she couldn't deny his attractiveness and slowly his attempts began to work until, one day, she gave in and accepted his offer of a date, which, unplanned, lead to him spending the night. She fell pregnant there and then, and neither of them wanted the baby be born out of wedlock to a single parent family so, only a few months later, the two married.

Not long after, Jade was born. Although he had been hoping for a boy, someone to take over the family business for him when he was older, James fell in love with his baby daughter and spent as much time as possible with her and his wife,

However, as the years went by, the business steadily grew until James was spending so much more time there than with his wife and child. When Jade was just 4 years old, the evening of her 4th birthday to be exact, he was having to stay late at the office after their new intern had made a mess of some important paper work and needed all the help she could get with it. She was a pretty young girl: blonde hair, blue eyes and James, although he learnt to control himself, had never really grown out of old habits.

After that night, the intern quit, only to return again 6 years later with a little girl and a birth certificate with the name 'James West' under 'father'. At first James didn't believe her and demanded a blood test which instantly proved that he was in fact a father again. Horrified and unsure of what to do, James kept them hidden from his wife and daughter, visiting them after work and claiming he had to stay late or going over every other weekend.

It was a year later that his wife found out. She'd never really trusted him and, if she hadn't had to take care of Jade all by herself, she would've found out sooner. But, one night, she dropped Jade off around a friend's house and went to James' place of work just as he was leaving. She followed his car to the home of his other child and, after just a glance through the window, immediately turned around and drove back home again.

That night, the West's had a huge argument about what Mrs West had seen. There were tears and broken china, screams and shouts that shook the house and left little Jade, who had been watching the fight hidden behind the door, scared and upset.

Mrs West left that night in a rage and didn't return. James wasn't too worried at first, he was still angry after the argument, but he was left in total shock when the police arrived at his door the next morning to explain that there had been a car crash involving his wife, who died instantly at the scene.

James never really came to terms with her death and only 6 months after the accident, he married the young intern he had gotten pregnant, thinking it was the right thing to do for their child. He grew very distant from Jade; she was growing into quite a strong, independent young girl and just to look at her reminded him of his late wife and the guilt he was still yet to deal with. He wanted to make up for what he'd done, so devoted as much time and effort (and money) as he could to his new wife and daughter.

Jade, on the other hand, blamed them all for her mothers' death. She didn't want these new people, she didn't want a new family. She just wanted her mommy back.

She had spent weeks and weeks after the accident just sat by the front door of the West house waiting for her mother to walk in with bags full of groceries, as she had done every Thursday after school. But, after the 4th week of no one turning up, Jade gave up. She focused all her anger into art, from drawing and painting to writing plays and acting. Soon she got accepted into Hollywood Arts and, at first, her father didn't want her to go. He didn't understand why someone would want to waste their time with 'such garbage' and refused to pay the fees.

This led to an argument. The first argument between father and daughter that was too reminiscent of the argument that had changed their lives. Jade had, at first, just yelled about him not bothering to understand her and distancing himself from her. But this soon turned into accusations and all of her anger burst forth as she pointed the finger and outright blamed him for her mothers' death, for moving on so fast and for the mess he'd made of their lives.

James broke down in tears, the guilt of it all finally hitting him and Jade, confused, comforted him until they ended up crying together, both finally coming to terms with what had happened.

James eventually agreed to pay for Jades schooling, but this didn't bring father and daughter any closer. Jade was still angry about her step mother and half sister that had invaded her world. They were both so demanding and selfish; she never got on with either of them and always ended up arguing with one or the other.

Jade snapped. She rebelled in anyway she could from her piercings and tattoos, her plays and paintings, even going to an extreme of spray painting the word 'bitch' over the front window of the brand new car her father had bought the woman for her birthday after a particularly nasty fight between the two of them.

She'd been punished quite sternly after that stunt; suspended allowance, grounded for 2 months, even the threat of pulling her out of Hollywood Arts if this continued. This was the only real attention she had gotten from her father in years which was one of the reasons she kept doing bad things, in order for him to notice and realise she was still part of his life. That, and anything to get back at the bitch and her daughter who had ruined everything.

In time, James had tried to reconnect with his daughter, even going to her play, Well Wishes, when she'd asked him to come, but he just couldn't do it. Every time he looked at her, he saw the hurt and accusations, he saw the young woman he had brought to an untimely death and the little girl he had emotionally abandoned afterwards.

Sometimes he wishes he could turn the clock back and go to the time when they were a happy, loving family. Even if those occasions were rare with his working habits, there was no denying he had loved every minute of being with his wife and daughter. Sometimes he wishes he could have the old Jade back, the one who used to sit on his knee and fall asleep while he read her a bed time story or the one who somehow found a way to work the speed dial at the age of three and would randomly call him at work just to make funny noises down the phone. But he can't. It's too late. And he knows that no matter what he does, he'll never get that back.

Jade's never been able to trust anyone since then, not even Beck. She can't allow herself to get hurt the same way she had when she lost her mother, then her father, all because of that stupid woman she is now forced to call her 'step mother.' But she'll never replace her real mother and ever year, once on the anniversary of her birth and once on the anniversary of her death, Jade visits her mothers grave. She brings flowers and stories of her life at school, and will sit by the tombstone talking until midnight strikes.

Her mother is the only parent who'll listen.


End file.
